TN: Did some edits on chapter 1, no need to re-read or anything but it reads smoother now. "Noppo-san" from chapter 1 just means a tall lanky person. Chapter 1 and 2 were long, this one is relatively shorter.
In front of me were five sinister-looking men giving broad grins.
For a moment, I was under the impression that this place was a bandits" hideout. Thinking so, I couldn"t help but look towards Rose"s face.
Rose-san…
"Nnn? What is it Usato? Aah you don"t know the names of these guys yet right? Then, you guys introduce yourselves."
It"s no good. This person doesn"t get it at all.
I somehow had doubts as to why the woman in front of me wasn"t afraid of these scary men"s faces at all.
…Ah, I see. She"s the leader so she"s probably used to these people"s faces.
The sinister-looking men started to surround me in a circle. What are they trying to start? I can prostrate myself on the ground any time you want you know?
"I"m Tong, my specialty is disinfection. Best regards newcomer"
The conspicuously tall man in front of me, Tong, introduced himself as such in a low voice.
As Tong"s distorted smile floated on his face, I couldn"t stop sweating. I also thought his name was interesting since it was what you"d normally use for grabbing onto meat.
After Tong, the other men started introducing themselves one by one.
"Mill, best regards newcomer"
"Alek, best regards newcomer"
"Gomul, best regards newcomer"
"Guld, best regards newcomer"
"I-I"m sorrwwyyy…"
I cried.
I"m well aware how uncool it is for a high school student in second-year to be weeping.
Even so, I would like to be believe anyone would have cried in these circ.u.mstances.
The frightening looking men covered me in all directions to give their self-introductions.
What exactly was this ritual-like initiation!?
Only people with a heart made of steel wouldn"t cry in this situation!
"Oi you all, don"t be scaring the newcomer"
"Ugoahh!?"
One of the men in my surroundings, Tong… his figure suddenly disappeared.
Rose sent him flying with a kick.
Rose seemed to be at a loss for words and raised an angry voice at the four men.
Honestly, I"m more afraid of you.
"I don"t particularly mind if you guys are getting along but… you guys understand right?"
"Rose-angeo! We were doing a greeting reception in our own way!"
This… they were intending this as a greeting!?
I felt shock from the plump man, Mill"s words. It was very easy for someone to misunderstand this type of hospitality, and they wouldn"t be able to conceal their s.h.i.+vers either. Rose sent Mill flying with a kick and glared at me with her sharp, wild animal-like eyes.
"Good grief, Usato. These guys aren"t healing magicians, they are my subordinates. Their jobs are to secure wounded people from the front lines. And there two others besides me who can use healing magic. Unfortunately, they won"t be returning for a little while. In the meantime, I"ll be teaching you healing magic"
"Eh?"
"Where is your reply?"
"Wa, yes!"
"Good. If that"s the case, we"ll start the training tomorrow. The room… Tong, you have an empty spot in your room right?"
My own will has already "fly away" somewhere huh? (TN: He thought ‘fly away’ in English, ‘flown away’ would make more sense here)
"Only I have a room to myself"
"Well it"s just right then, you can ask this guy for various things. It"s already night-time, it"s alright for you guys to turn in"
"""Yesss"""
"Yes…"
"Follow me, I"ll guide you to your room"
Following Tong, he led me to my room.
The room I was guided to was just an ordinary dormitory room.
It wasn"t disordered nor did it have any pointless objects lying about.
Thinking that it was a great difference from my own room, I sat down on the bed.
It"s unexpected, I was thinking there"d be chains or a flamethrower lying around.
"Oi, newcomer"
"What is it?" (TN: Usato asks in a very polite manner to Tong)
"You don"t need to talk like that with me, I don"t mind if you talk casually"
"…I got it"
Suddenly being called out by Tong, my body quivered with a start and gave a reply. This person is awfully tall that"s why he has such an intimidating aura. Even just starting a conversation with him, my physical endurance gauge gets shaved off quickly.
In Tong"s hands were simple looking work clothes which he threw towards me and bluntly said
"That"s the clothes you will be using for training. There"s 3 different sets of clothing for the top and bottom, you can mix and match them however you want. The toilet is just a bit ahead once you leave this room. For more detailed matters, I believe anego will tell you…"
"T-Thanks"
As one would expect, I couldn"t always be in my school uniform so I"m grateful for these clothes. For now, I should change out of my school uniform.
Facing Tong"s way, I saw he was already lying down on the bed facing the opposite direction from me.
"The training will be tough, hurry up and sleep. Especially the training for healing magicians… tomorrow will be h.e.l.l"
"H-h.e.l.l?"
"Healing magic can be used to cure your own wounds… even you should understand what that means"
In other words, no matter what kind of injury I receive I will still have to continue training.
I felt the blood draining from my face, and I was certain that my facial expression was pale right now.
I could heal my own injuries. I understood I wouldn"t be having any breaks, ah yup. But Rose-san is the lifesaving squad"s leader, even though it"s only a little… I want to try learning healing magic from her.
"Could you teach me more about healing magicians?"
I was brought here for the sake of learning healing magic.
Although it was not in the way I desired, this is a good chance. If I could be a support for Kazuki and Inukami-senpai, I"m sure I can become someone useful to them in this war.
"Aah? …Guess there"s no helping it. Healing magicians, to say it elegantly, are magicians who are proficient at restoring. To say it in a deprecatory manner, they are incompetent magicians."
"Incompetent?"
"Unable to use offensive magic. Always a priority target for the enemies during battles. A few years ago, healing magicians were looked at as objects of disdain and contempt. ""Healing magic is useless"" that was what every place was saying back then."
If I remember correctly, generally every magician could use restoration spells to heal themselves, at least to the degree of first-aid treatment.
With that in consideration, it would only be natural in fights to focus on attacking the healing magicians who could only heal and that weren’t capable of fighting back.
Even in the games that I have played, I always take down the enemies that are able to heal first.
"Well in reality, I thought so too. Healing magicians that couldn"t use any offensive magic are just small fries… right, that"s what I used to think."
"Used to?"
"…Looks like I"ve spoken a bit too much. Let"s sleep"
"Eh? It still feels unfinished"
"Shut up, hurry up and sleep!! Idiot!!"
Tong shouted at me while lying down.
It would"ve been fine even if you didn"t shout you know.
While feeling mentally injured from being shouted at, I got onto my bed while shedding some tears and prepared myself for the training tomorrow.
"Healing magic huh. I was told it was going to be h.e.l.l but, the image isn"t coming to me at all…"
A magic for the sake of healing others.
From the conversations so far, that"s the way my magic is supposed to be used.
But considering Tong"s talk, tomorrow"s special training for healing magic doesn"t seem like it will be that simple.
Nevertheless, I obtained an opportunity to temper my own magic… even if it wasn’t in a way I desired.
Tomorrow, I"ll try my best in my own way.